It is difficult for the parents of every family to teach their children to be responsible (有责任的) for housework.

    The Shatian School in Shanghai is making its students do housework for their parents. The third graders(三年级学生) must learn how to cook and clean, sixth graders do the laundry(洗衣服) and seventh and eighth graders cook balanced meals with 15 yuan.

    Many parents think it's a good way for children to try housework but they don't know how to do it at home. With the following ideas, you really can get your children to help at home.

    If you want to make your children think that they can do everything quite right, please don't always scold(批评) if them but give them lots of praise at home. Talk more about what they did right, not about what they didn't do. If your child finishes some difficult work, give him or her a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad as a reward.

    Are you good with money? Do you get pocket money from your parents or do you work to make money? Read on to find out about British teenagers and their money!

    Pocket money

    Most teenagers in Britain receive pocket money from their parents. They might have to do some housework to get pocket money, including cleaning, cooking, washing dishes and so on.

    Part-time work

    A part-time job is a choice for teenagers who don't have pocket money or who want to get extra money. About 15% teenagers have a job. Only children over the age of 13 can work. Popular part-time jobs for teens include babysitting, delivering (递送) newspapers, restaurant work and shop work. Children in Britain can work two hours a day at the most on a school day but not during school hours. During weekends and school holidays, they can work longer hours.

    Bank accounts (账户)

    Some children and teenagers have a bank account. There is no age limit at which you can open a bank account, but a bank manager can decide whether to open an account for a child or a young person. Parents can put pocket money directly into their child's bank account. Most banks have a prepaid bank card designed for young people.

    Mobile apps

    Many companies have made mobile apps for children, including GoHenry, Osper and Gimi. Parents can add money to their children's accounts and check to see how the money is spent. Children can choose to save their money or spend it using a card. The apps suggest that kids from 8 to 13 can use the cards.

    So, many teenagers are getting experience working part-time, dealing with banks and deciding whether to save or spend their money. These are all steps towards becoming a financially independent (经济独立的) person and making and looking after your own money.

    We always think that it's OK for us to leave our plants home during our vacation as plants won't scream like pets, right?

    A recent study done by a group of scientists at the Tel Aviv University has discovered that some plants will scream when they are under stress.

    The research was carried out on tomato plants and tobacco plants by cutting their stems (茎) and depriving (剥夺) them of water. A microphone was placed 10cm away from them. When their stems were cut, the plants started "screaming" between 20 and 100 kilohertz, and the scientists guess that this scream is probably meant to warn other plants nearby.

    When the tomato plants' stems were cut, 25 ultrasonic (超声的) pain sounds were recorded in an hour, and at the same time, 15 ultrasonic pain sounds were recorded from the tobacco plants. When they were deprived of water, the tomato plants recorded even more pain sounds with 35 pain sounds in an hour while the tobacco plants recorded about 11 pain sounds.

    The plants also acted differently to different kinds of stresses. For example, the tobacco plants gave out a stronger "scream" when they were deprived of water than when their stems were cut. But plants that were in no immediate (立刻的) danger gave out less than one ultrasonic sound per hour.

    The group of scientists said that plants are not as quiet as we had always thought, but in fact their voices are so high-pitched that we just can't hear them.

    Last year, another study has found out that plants feel pain when they are touched or hurt and they will give off a terrible smell.

Everyone wants to be successful, but failure (失败) is a common thing for us to meet with. 1, sometimes we fail the exams; sometimes in the sports meeting, others 2 but we fail. So almost 3 meets with the failure in his life.

However, different people have different 4 to deal with(处理)the failure. Some people lose hope when they fail. They seem to think that it is the 5 of the world. But others don't take failure 6. They seem to think that failure is the first step(步骤)to success. They will 7 and try their best to get the final success.

Now let's imagine( 猜想)the ends of the two ways. If we are afraid of the failure and always feel sad, and don't try our best to change ourselves, we may meet with more and more failures. But as 8 as we are hopeful and brave to face the failure, and never give up, we will become 9 and our dreams will come true some day.

So, please remember: Life doesn't give us the pleasure we want. But if we never give up and 10do little by little, it will make a big difference.

Doorbells are the bells (铃) for people to ring at a door. When someone hears it, he or she can open the door. Do you know that you can ring a doorbell for fish, too? 

Every spring, millions of fish migrate (洄游) along the river in the city to find better places to lay eggs. But in the river, there are many locks (水闸). They stop fish from swimming through. Weerd Lock is in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands (荷兰). When fish get there, they have to wait a long time before the lock opens for boats to pass through. The lock keeper there is glad to open the lock for fish, but he cannot tell when fish want to get through. So in 2021, Mark van Heukelum, a scientist, came up with a good idea to help solve this problem—by using the fish doorbell. 

Under the water near the lock, there's a camera. People from around the world can visit a website (网站) to see fish through the camera. When you see a group of fish waiting, you can ring the doorbell on the screen. And when the lock keeper notices it, he will open the lock for the fish. 

In its first spring season in 2021, people around the world rang the fish doorbell more than 100,000 times. If you want to join them to help fish, visit the website and ring the fish doorbell next spring. 

① A survey(调查) has shown that lots of people can't sleep well. Sometimes you feel tired when you wake up. You may have a headache and you feel like you could sleep for another three hours. Many things around us cause sleeplessness. Here are a few changes you can make to improve your sleep.

②Go to bed and get up at the same time. You may share the same bedroom with your sister or brother. You both must go to bed regularly(规律地) so that you don't trouble each other.

③Clean up your bedroom. A study from a university in Zhengzhou found that people with clean bedrooms usually sleep better than those with dirty and untidy rooms.

④ Get more house plants. Studies show that house plants help with reducing (减轻)stress. Also, plants such as lavender(薰衣草) and gardenias(栀子花) have smells that may help some people relax and sleep better.

⑤ Make your room dark. When light hits your eyes, it tell you not to fall asleep. In fact, we need darkness especially in the evening. So if you want your body to know that it's time to rest, turn off the lights about an hour before bedtime or wear eye masks. Your phone and your TV should also be thought of. You may also use the dark curtaıns(窗帘) to keep any outside light from going into your bedroom.

⑥Lower your bedroom temperature. The body becomes cooler at night, so lowering the temperature before bedtime can help you relax and fall asleep more quickly. The NationalSleep Foundation in a country says your bedroom should be about 16 ℃ to 19℃ for a good night's sleep.